Sing to the Lord a new song::May 29

Have you ever felt like this?

Psalm 137:
1 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.

2 On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.

3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord's song
in a foreign land?

Sometimes life changes. Sometimes we don't love those changes, and then, all to often, we have to change too, and that is never comfortable.


Today in church, this Psalm was read:

Psalm 96:
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!

9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

After this scripture, we sang this song: (Episcopal Hymn #412)



Everyone can sing to the Lord a song, no matter what your song may be.

How will you sing your new song to the Lord?
♥ Melody

Eucharistic Minister::May 22

Me putting on my alb & getting ready for Eucharist.

This is what I wrote on facebook tonight:

Today I had the opportunity to do something wonderful. I was able to give communion to my husband. I got choked up when I said, "The blood of Christ; the cup of salvation."

I never would have thought, 2 years ago, when I started questioning everything I'd believed in for so many years, that I would safely land in the Episcopal Church and be offering the chalice of wine to my fellow parishioners. God is kind. ♥

♥ Melody

Seeking and Serving Christ in all People::Pat::March 26

Before I ever met Pat, the teddy bear strapped to the back of his bicycle made me smile. I was glad to meet him and talk with him and offer a "God bless you" to him.

Tonight, as Steve, Matt and I said prayers, we read this story from the Episcopal Relief & Development's 2016 Lenten Meditations and it made me get a lump in my throat. By this definition, I saw Jesus today.

Saturday, March 26, pp. 60:

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and
his love is perfected in us.
—1 John 4:12

Around noon every day I leave the office to get something to eat.
I usually bring back a sandwich to eat at my desk.

This daily activity is impossible to do in midtown Manhattan
where I work without being reminded of the reality of poverty and
homelessness even in the midst of phenomenal wealth. It’s a little
disconcerting. Isn’t that just like Jesus to be disconcerting? The
homeless and the poor are Jesus after all. That is where Jesus
said we would meet him.

So, occasionally I take Jesus to lunch. As I walk by the church
around the corner where homeless people congregate, I ask Jesus if
he (or she) would like something to eat. Sometimes there’s just one
Jesus there; sometimes, a few. Then I go buy Jesus a sandwich. One
day I’m going to take Jesus to lunch somewhere nicer. Or maybe
Jesus will take me.

To tell you the truth, I don’t bring sandwiches to homeless people
to feed them so much as I do it to meet Jesus in person.

I wonder if taking Jesus to lunch might open up some new ways
for you to meet Jesus, too.
—Stacy F. Sauls

This is what I wrote earlier in the day about the picture:

Pat stopped by for Holy Saturday service today. He left with a cup of hot coffee, anything from the Garden of Warmth (clothing, blankets, coats) that fit and he wanted, conversations with Fr. Peter, Heidi Memmott, and Melody Oliphant, and an invitation to come back whenever he'd like. His smile tells me that he was treated with respect & dignity.

At St. Mary's, this is how we follow Christ's commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves and seek and serve Him in all people.

God bless you, Pat.

♥ Melody